Air Pollution Control Board Defers Air Permit Vote on the Buckingham Compressor Station

Virginia Interfaith Power & Light: Air Pollution Control Board Defers Air Permit Vote on the Buckingham Compressor Station

People of faith stand in solidarity with the historic, predominately African American community of Union Hill whose health and safety will be sacrificed for corporate profit.

Richmond, VA – Today, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board deferred their vote until their next meeting on December 10 on the air permit for the proposed Buckingham compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). Dominion Energy has chosen to build the compressor station in Union Hill, a historic, predominantly African American neighborhood. Various critical issues have been raised and remain unaddressed.

Virginia faith leaders and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light attended the November 8 and 9 Air Pollution Control Board meetings to demonstrate that people of faith are concerned about the disproportionate impact this compressor station will have on the health and safety of Union Hill.

In response, Kendyl Crawford, Director of Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, released the following statement:

“Virginians of faith have taken action out of a moral responsibility to protect the most vulnerable from the negative impacts of fossil fuel infrastructure. Today, over 40 people of faith, who are also Dominion Energy customers, have turned off their lights as part of a 24-hour Power-Fast and an act of solidarity with Union Hill.

We are thankful that the Air Pollution Control Board has decided to take additional time to consider environmental injustice, site suitability, and cumulative impacts of the entire pipeline by deferring their vote on the air permit.

We believe that decisions about energy production are moral issues at their core, and that sacrificing our neighbors’ health and safety for a private company to profit is wrong.”

###About Virginia Interfaith Power & Light: Virginia Interfaith Power & Light is a nonprofit organization that collaborates, as people of faith, to grow healthy communities and advance climate justice through education, advocacy, and worship with over 2,500 supporters across the state. For more information, visit http://www.vaipl.org.